Then Came You
by Clavel
Summary: My name is Susannah Simon. I wasn't happy living in sleepy Carmel, Ca. I was ready to bolt out the second Schol let out. But then happened the one thing that made me wanna stay: Then Came You.
1. Me Against The World

**This fic is dedicated to my fellow De Silva Wives and my Squirrel Sistas!**

**THEN CAME YOU**

_**Chapter ONE: Me against the world**_

_**Suze**_

"Please, Cee, calm down." I groaned for the umpteenth time as I drove to the Junipero Serra Mission Academy. CeeCee Webb, my best friend, kept babbling on an on about how cool out last semester of High School was going to be.

"But, Suze, think about it!" Cee said. "Our last semester!"

"Just six months till I'm out of here."

"Are you really going back to New York when school lets out?"

"If Columbia, RISD or NYU take me, I'm out of here." I said as I parked.

"Do you really hate it here so much?" Cee asked… most people would have never noticed but I knew her well and even though she had the reputation of being ice cold, I knew that everything she felt, she felt strongly… and so, that day, I knew I had hear a catch in her voice. She didn't want me to live.

I lowered my black glasses and turned to her.

Cee had been my best friend ever since I first moved here four years ago at the beginning of High School. We had been through think and thin together, I had come to rely on our unwavering friendship – forged in the war zone of freshman year – as the one thing I could rely on like a sure bet. Cee was the one person I was going to miss –along with Father Dominic – once I put the whole country between me and my family.

When mom married Andy Ackerman and moved us – herself, me and my little sister Hailey – clear across the country, I had been one angry child but father D – and Cee - had stuck to me, helping me to keep my grades up and gave me one hell of a recommendation for my college applications.

"I don't hate it, Cee." I answered finally. "It's just not home."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It didn't take long for the news to reach me. It was nearly impossible for something to remain secret here though I had once succeeded in such task… not that I was ever going to talk about it…

Anyway…

Besides, Kelly Prescott – the former Mrs. Slater – wanted me to know, she wanted me to do something about it, no doubt and since my contempt for Paul was no secret she thought that letting me know was the best way to solve the matter. So I ended up finding out as soon as I left homeroom: Paul Slater was after my sister.

"Paul," I called and he stopped.

"Suze, long time no see."

"Shut up you asshole." I said low and fast. "I'll just tell you this once: Stay away from my sister."

"Or you'll do what?" He asked, taunting. I showed him what. I punched him in the eye; he was going to get a black eye, I so knew it because his eye was swelling pretty fast. Ten Points for moi.

"Pretty and eloquent as always," Paul said once he recovered from my punch, acting as if I hadn't hurt him though I knew I had. "Suzie, Suzie, Suzie... even if you could make ME stay away from Hailey you aren't going to make her stay away from me. And there is nothing you can do about that."

"We'll see about that." I said though I knew he was right, Hailey was as stubborn as a mule. And she wanted Paul. I turned to leave but Paul caught my arm.

"Sure you don't want to reconsider..." he said letting his voice trail off, he knew I knew what he meant. "I'm sure there are a few things you could do to convince me to leave Hailey alone. Just say the word and I'm all yours. I'll dump your sister faster than what you can say 'First date'"

"Not in your life." I snarled and pulled my arm.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_**Paul**_

"That Chick is pretty tough, isn't she?" Michael Meducci, my little minion said while I pressed an ice pack to my eye.

"Shit, don't say." I answered sarcastically.

"What are you going to do about her?"

As in on cue I saw the new transferred student, a guy named Jesse de Silva, I think. Rumor had it he had gotten into even more trouble than Suze. Suddenly the little engines of my brain started to work and something made click. "I got and idea." I said.

Really, I was surprised I hadn't thought of it before. That De Silva guy was just Suze's type... maybe if I could convince him to help me... he would keep Suze busy and distracted and I could have my fun.

I'm such a genius!

"Hey, you, De Silva!" I called; I knew his name because he was on my homeroom.

He stopped and turned to eye me with distrust, he was clearly annoyed. "What do you want?" He asked, not nicely by any standards.

"Chill my friend; it's just the first day of school." I said with my most charming smile.

"I'm not your friend and you can save your evil-lawyer smile for someone who will buy it." He answered, leaning back against the wall. "What do you want?"

"Okay, let's do the presentation first. I'm Paul Slater."

"Jesse de Silva." He answered curtly and not so subtly looking at his watch.

"I have business proposition for you."

"What kind of proposition?"

"How would you feel about helping me with a little skirts trouble? See, I'm dating a girl and I need someone to… distract her older sister. I, of course, I'm prepared to offer you good compensation.

De Silva laughed. "I don't know what kind of people you frequent but I'm not a man whore. You can keep your business proposition."

"Really, we are talking about five hundred dollars."

"I don't need it." De Silva continued flatly.

"Would you take a look at the goods first, at least? I assure you; she's rather easy on the eye… and has one hell of a right hook." I pointed at swelling eye.

He looked unconvinced for a moment but then said. "Whoever hit you is worth of my time. Since at least now we share an interest." His tone was bored but at least I had gotten him to get a look at Suze.

"Fine, look for e at lunch hour and I show her to you."

De Silva grunted something and began to walk again.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_**Jesse**_

So far the Junipero Serra Mission Academy wasn't all that better than Carmel Valley High. Sure it was a little bit cleaner and sure, the principal Father Dominic was way nicer than my old principal… at least he hadn't inquired if I had weed just upon seeing me. But on the other side, everyone else was ANNOYING.

Like that Slater guy who interrupted me this morning. And all the preppy girls running around, tossing their hair and acting like it was such and honor for them to allow you to be near them.

So, by lunch, I had decided that though it wasn't bad, the Mission Academy wasn't all that good either. So I was, like, okay... school will continue to be just school as in "School is school, it comes before life."

Still, since I half said I would, I looked for Slater.

"Hey, Rico." He called when he saw me.

"Call me that again and I'll make it so that both your eyes look black." I said.

"Alright," he grunted. "Look over there," he pointed at two girls; one was a blond albino girl, pretty but not my type. The other one, whoever… now we were talking. She had chestnut hair and bright emerald eyes, she was laughing at something the albino girl had said and her smile lit up all her face and made her green eyes shine.

"Isn't it pretty?" Slater asked.

I grunted and shrugged like I didn't' care. "She's okay, I guess."

"Well, why don't you think of it?" Slater said. "My offer stands."

"Whatever," I answered and went to seat pulling out the lunch my mother had packed.

Yeah, I know, I know. Big, bad Jesse De Silva eating the lunch his mom packed. But what can I say, she likes to cook for us kids, just because I'm eighteen now, that doesn't mean I can just tell mom to sod off… even if sometimes I want to.

To my surprise, the girl Slater intended for me to 'seduce' sat down at the same time than me. I looked up and the albino girl said. "You don't mind, right?"

"Be my guest." I answered; grinning wolfishly as I bit into the apple mom had packed.

"Thanks." The dark-haired girl said.

"So, you're the new guy, aren't you?" the albino girl asked.

"Jesse De Silva." I said extending my hand for her, because, no matter what else I might seem to you, I was taught to be polite with the ladies at all times.

"Pleasure, I'm CeeCee Webb."

I nodded and smiled, and when CeeCee let of my hand I offered it to the other girl, she took it reluctantly. "Suze Simon."

"Soose?" I asked and I couldn't' help to laugh.

"Susannah, as in 'Oh, Susannah, Don't You Cry for Me.'" She answered in a monotone.

"Susannah." I repeated, testing the name. "I like it." I said standing up.

"Glad I have you approval." She grunted.

I ignored it. "Have a nice meal, ladies."

Well, well, well… maybe this school has a point on its favor.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

End of chapter ONE

.-.-.-.-.

Notes:

I hope you guys like it!

And before you mention it, yes, it does follow more or less the narration arch of Ten Things I Hate about You.


	2. Plan A

**THEN CAME YOU**

**Chapter Two: Plan A**

_**Suze**_

On the matter of my sister and Scum-Bag-Slater, I tried my best not to act rashly. CeeCee and I discussed it at length and sadly got to the conclusion that I was going to need reinforcement if I was to defeat the forces of Evil. So I had to go to the three dwarfs – a. k. a. my stepbrothers – for help.

"All right Suze, spill it." Sleepy said that Wednesday after dinner. We had gathered in his room because it's the only one in which Hailey doesn't just brags in on account of how once she just walked in without knocking and found Sleepy doing the dirty with his girlfriend.

Since then, she knocks before entering Sleepy's room. Hailey doesn't bother to do so with the rest of us who still are – and in Dopey's case always will be – virgins.

Anyway, IO went ahead and explained about Hailey and Slater.

"Okay, here is the thing." I said completely serious trying hard not to think when was the last time Sleepy changed his bed sheets. "I know for a fact that Paul Slater is secretly dating Hailey."

"Slater? As in Scum-Bag-Slater?" Sleepy asked.

"Yes." 

"We have to tell mom and dad, right away. Slater is bad news." Sleepy said.

"We can't do that." Said Doc.

"Why not?" asked Dopey.

"Because the more we say she can't date him the more she's going to want to date him." I said. Like seriously, they have been living with Hailey and me for the past four years and they still don't understand anything about girls! Well, Doc understands a little, but he's a genius, so it doesn't really counts.

"So what do you propose?" Sleepy asked.

I can say a lot of things about Sleepy, some good, some bad… but I know one true: he takes seriously the whole 'Big Brother' thing, even if he isn't my brother.

"Well…" I said, drawing out the letters as long as I could. "I got an idea."

.-.-.-.-.-.

_**Paul**_

I could see Suze's hand all over the business. Seriously, it was ridiculously obvious. Like suddenly Brad Ackerman –and the rest of the wrestling team – wanted to be my friend. And the other Ackerman boy – the nerdy one – was always trailing along after Hailey. And then at lunch Suze and her stepbrothers would confer together for moments, looking all suspicious and stuff.

It soon became clear that if I wanted some quality time with my newest girlfriend, the lovely Hailey Simon, I was going to have to get a move on with my plain to keep Suze too busy to notice her little sister's doings.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_**Jesse **_

"I've told you, Slater." I was saying. "I don't need your help to get a girl."

"I could make it easier for you." Slater was insisted. "I know someone from the inside that could pass on some info about the lady in question."

"I might not be interested in 'the lady in question'. And I certainly wouldn't want or need your help if I did were interested."

"Would you at least talk to Hailey?"

I shook my head and walked away. Seriously, that guy was annoying.

"Jesse." I head Father Dominic call me as I walked pass him in the breezeway.

"Yes, Father?"

"How are you? Are you adapting okay?"

"Yes. Thank you for asking, Father Dominic."

"Good, good, that's good." He said and then hesitated a little, he was about to ask something, I knew this well enough, I hadn't been going to the mass to this basilica for more than half of my life and not learned a thing or two about good, old Father Dom. "Listen, I know you're busy with your classes and all that, but I was wondering if you would mind a little bit of extra work."

"Um…" I wasn't sure, last time he had tricked me into helping him to decorate the whole basilica for the Christmas festival. "What kind of work?"

"Tutoring. I know of certain student who could use some help in Spanish, and I couldn't think of a better person to do it than you."

Spanish. Ha! That was easy. "Sure, Father Dominic, it will be no problem."

"Thank you."

"Hey, this kind of thing looks good in the college applications."

"Indeed it does, but you will also be doing a great favor to the young lady in question. Anyway, I'll tell her to meet you at the study hall for sixth period."

"Fine."

"Well, now, run along, child, run along."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_**Suze**_

"Father D!" I wailed indignant. "I don't need a tutor!"

"Susannah, you have been getting C – in Spanish. I know it's not tragic but it's lowering your average grades. And with the schools you're applying to, you better have the best grades you can pull off."

"I know. But a tutor?"

"He's a very nice young man and I'm sure he will be of great help to you. Now, come along, he's waiting for us at the Study Hall."

I grunted something intelligible but never the less went with Father Dom.

"Father Dominic." A deep, masculine voice greeted Father D as we walked into the Study Hall – a fairly empty Study Hall, might I add?

"Oh, Jesse, punctual as usual." Father D said and turned to me. "Now, Susannah, this is Jesse De Silva, he has very kindly agreed to help you with Spanish.

I gave an undefined grunt for answer. And Father D left.

"Very well, Susannah, let's get started." Jesse said.

"Suze." I corrected.

"Su-sa-nnah." He said, carefully enouncing each and every syllable. "'Sooze' sounds most vulgar."

"Does not."

"Does too." He said and there was a very final note in his voice. Jesse pulled back my chair and I slumped down on it. Then he sat down and began to skip through my Spanish text book, and amused little grin in his face, like he was saying 'this book is so dumb'.

"Well then," I said. "I can I call you Dickhead? I find Jesse so…"

"I find my name perfectly acceptable." Jesse interrupted, finding a page in the book and reading what it said. "Now, sit straight, shut up and do as you're told."

Was it really my fault that I began to call her every other bad word I knew in French? See, French is easy. CeeCee takes French and last year she went for ten days to France with the French group and learned a lot of French swear words. Words that later she related to me.

Why didn't I take French? Why did I choose Spanish instead?

Oh, yeah, Sleepy took Spanish and said it was easy. That's why.

I had thought 'If it's easy for Sleepy…"

Was I ever wrong?

"_Nombre de Dios."_ Jesse said. _"Me parece que te dije que te callaras."_

"What?" I asked completely confused. I think he was saying something about… a street?

"Exactly." He said in a superior tone.

God, I hate him.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_**Hailey**_

Suze was SO going to pay for this!

How dares she!

Like I couldn't totally tell it was all her doing.

Like isn't bad enough that everyone knows I'm related to Miss Le Freak, a. k. a. Men-hater-Suze Simon, now she goes middling in MY business.

So, to confront her, I waited outside the Study Hall for her, and sure enough she walked out with this cute-but-really-not-my-type guy, the new transferred student. Suze seemed a little unhappy. Good.

"Suze!" I called since she didn't see me.

"Oh, hey, Hailey." She said as if there was nothing wrong whatsoever with the world.

"How dare you?"

"What?" She asked in the bored tone of hers. "What do you want?"

"What do I want? WHAT DO **I** want?

"It seems to me that you understood my question.

"ARGH! I'll tell you what I want I want you to stop messing with my life!"

"Um… whatever you're talking about."

"You know good and well what I'm talking about!" I yelled outraged, thankfully there weren't any of the nuns around to write me up for yelling in the hallway. "Like suddenly out of the blue Jack wants to spend 'quality time with his little sister' and David is following my every step. And BRAD! Of all people I can't believe you ally with BRAD! You hate Brad."

"Dopey – I mean, Brad, can be a lot of things but he's way better than Scum-Bag-Slater." Suze said, completely and infuriatingly calm.

"You're just jealous, that's it. It has to be."

"Jealous? About what?"

"You're jealous that mom loves me more, and Andy likes me better and I do fit in here. And that I'm not afraid of men."

"I'm not afraid of men." Suze said with a little smile. "I feel pity for the genera as a whole, actually."

"ARGH! You're impossible! Why don't you do us ALL a BIG, BIG favor and move back to stinky New Your City all ready!"

With that I stormed out. Sometimes I just can't stand Suze! She can be so….!

Anyway, I was pacing in the breezeway, trying to cool off before going to class, when Alan McTavish showed up. Shy, nerdy, Alan McTavish.

"Hey, Hailey." He said shyly. He has been asking me out since the eight grade.

"Hi, Alan." I said in a tone that I hoped indicated I wasn't in the mood for talking.

"Um… hey, I was wondering if you… you would consider going to the movies with me this Saturday."

"Sorry, Alan, you know I can't date unless Suze has a date." I answered, which was the truth but not the whole truth and nothing more than the truth. I mean, I like Alan but he SO not the dating material.

"Oh." He said a little put off. He was about to walk away but then stopped and this big, goofy grin lit up his face, he was cute, I must admit, in the nerdy sort of way. "What if I got your sister a date?" He asked all hopeful. "Would you go out with me then?"

"Sure." I said because the chances of him getting Suze a date were just the same of him every dating me: NONE.

"All right, Hailey! I'll let you know!" He said, all happy as he began to run to his next class.

Whatever.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_**Alan**_

YES! I got a maybe from Hailey! Now all I need is someone to take Suze out… um… I think I'm going to need reinforcements.

Oh, and speaking of the devil here he comes, my big brother: Adam McTavish.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Notes:

Sniff, sniff. Cry, cry.

I had finished this chapter hours ago but it got erased.

So this is the second go, sorry if it sucks.


	3. A day in the life of Jesse De Silva

**THEN CAME YOU**

**Chapter Three: A Day in the Life of Jesse De Silva**

_**Adam**_

"So, let me see if I get this straight." I said to my very young padawan, a. k. a. my brother. "If you want to go out with Hailey you gotta get a date for her sister?"

"Yeah, can you help me? I mean, you know Suze, right?"

"Yeah I know her. That's why I'm telling you there is not a chance in hell you'll get a date for her. Not with someone from the Mission. I mean, she's nice and all but you most people don't stick around to figure that out first. Plus, the only reason why she's nice to me is because I'm not trying to get into her pants."

"But… but, couldn't you, like, just ask her?"

"No can do. You know I'm in love." I said and was just my luck that my lady love chose to walk by just at that moment.

"Hi, Adam." CeeCee said smiling at me.

"Hi, Cee." I said and before I could say something witty or funny she walked away.

I must have been staring at the empty space for quite a while after she was gone because Alan taped on my shoulder and went "Do us all a favor and ask her out already."

I grunted something in response.

"Anyway, back to my problem, what can I do?"

"Well, why don' you try with the new guy? He isn't aware of Suze's reputation as a ball buster; he might bite and ask her out."

"New guy?"

"Yeah, he transferred from CVHS."

"Good, good, what should I tell him?"

"I don't know, think for yourself."

"Since when has that worked?"

I shook my head and left my baby brother, I was late for Home Economics and I get to sit near CeeCee at that class.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_**Suze (days later)**_

There he was, the source of my daily-Spanish-torture, talking on the pay phone outside the Mission's parking lot.

"But you said it would be ready today! I was counting on it." A pause. "Yeah, well that's not good enough. Fine, that's just peachy! Tomorrow is fine." He hanged up the phone a little viciously and cursed in Spanish a little.

"Hey, Sailor, need a ride?" I asked, truly I was just trying to mock him. I didn't' expect him to really consider the offer.

Jesse-smart-pants-de-Silva looked at his watch with a troubled expression. "It might take a LONG while. Do you have time?"

"Um..." I said, the guy really looked like he needed to be somewhere else and not in the Mission's parking lot. "Sure, I got time."

I'm so good sometimes...

"Thanks!" Jesse said like he meant it and smiled to me, a real smile not his usual sardonic "You're so dumb because the only word you know in Spanish is Taco" smile that he was always giving me.

My heart did the weirdest thing then. When he smiled, I mean. It did this weird flip inside my chest... so so weird. And then he got in my car and I blushed like a school girl.

"All set?" I asked since I had nothing else to say. "Where are we going?"

He directed me as we drove. To my surprise he wasn't sarcastic or anything about my driving skills and, lets face it, I'm not the world's best driver. We drove to the valley and I was very surprised when we stopped at the Carmel Valley Elementary School.

There he got out of the car and motioned for me to do the same.

"Jesse!" A little voice cried and this cute and adorable dark haired little girl flung herself at Jesse who caught her and pulled her up in his arms. "You're late!"

"I'm sorry, Mapi. Mom's car is still in the shop and I had to catch a ride." Jesse explained very patiently.

"You're late!" Another two little voices cried.

"I know." Jesse grunted and put Mapi down, and took her backpack and then the ones that the other two girls were carrying. "Susannah," he said and the three girls turned to see me at once, they all had dark hair and eyes. "These are some of my sisters, Josie, Tess and Mapi. Girls, this is Susannah, a classmate of mine, she was kind enough to give me a ride here."

The three girls started to talk at once. By the time we got back in the car –Jesse took the keys for me and said it was easier if he did the driving since he knew the way around the Valley and I didn't – I had learned that Jesse had five sisters, ages between 16 and 6. The oldest one was Martha and then Mercedes; they were both in high school and rode the bus back to their house. Josie was in the sixth grade, Tess in the fourth and little Mapi, the baby of the family, was in the first grade and Jesse picked them up at school three times a week when their mom was busy at her work – Mrs. De Silva was a nurse.

Fifteen minutes later we were pulling into a nice, big house. The lawn was perfectly mowed and the house had recently been given a coat of powdery-blue paint and the windowsills, door and fence with gleaming white paint. It was at least as big as my own house only that on a working class neighborhood, still there was something endearing about that house; like you could tell a family lived there.

Jesse and the girls got out of the car and I did the same because it seemed the only thing I could do, and I followed them into the house. It was nice and comfy inside. Jesse carried the three backpacks upstairs while the girls went around the house opening the windows to let the fresh air in.

"Jesse's going to make burgers in the grill outside." Tess informed me as she walked in with a tray with cool lemonade. "Do you want to stay?"

"I wouldn't want to intrude…" I began to say but Jesse's voice cut me off.

"Is the least we can do, you really helped me today…" I turned to see Jesse, to tell him that I should really get home because Andy, my stepfather, throws a fit if we are not there in time for dinner, but just as I was getting ready to say this I saw that Jesse had changed, he was wearing these comfortable looking jeans and a white t-shirt that in contrast with his olive skin made him look utterly HOT.

"Um… I guess that I if I call home…" Before I could finish my sentence Josie was thrusting the phone in my hand and Tess was tugging at my other hand to make me sit down in the couch.

Jesse just smiled and went into the back yard. Then Mapi came running carrying a big photo book. "Want to see Jesse's embarrassing baby pictures?" She asked eagerly as she sat down next to me and put the photo book in my lap – the cover read 'Jesse'. Then she added. "There is one really good one of him running around in the garden wearing nothing but a smile."

So I spent the whole afternoon at Casa de Silva. It was funny seeing Jesse there, he acted completely different than what he acted at school. At the Mission he was always so irritating, acting all confident and know-it-all and even smug. At his house Jesse was nothing like that, he was very laid back and let his younger sisters tease him and make fun of him – though at the same time you could tell all five of them loved and respected him.

I also got to meet Mrs. De Silva, she was – like her son and daughters – dark haired and brown eyed, but very pretty in the Hispanic/latin way, and had a wicked sense of humor and laughed easily. She was clearly proud of each and every one of her children. Mr. De Silva and Mrs. De Silva had come from Spain about twenty years ago but after their divorce, Mr. De Silva had chose to return to Spain while Mrs. De Silva and the kids chose to remain at Carmel.

Jesse was the man of the house, and took his part seriously. Like he would help his sisters with their homework and did the house repairs and helped his mom taking care of the girls. He was the kind of guy who would do anything for his mom, but he wasn't, like Kirk in the Gilmore Girls or anything of the sort. He had gotten in trouble once or twice before, right after the divorce of his parents he had fallen in with the wrong crown.

Martha told me that he had had a run in or two with the Carmel P. D. but he snapped out of it and had been a real trooper since, helping Mrs. De Silva and all that. Mercedes told me Jesse was really smart and that was why Father Dominic had been able to get him a scholarship to the Mission Academy. Tess and Josie informed me that Jesse wanted to be a doctor and was applying to Stanford University so he could still be within the State and close enough to home in case of emergency.

By the time I left the De Silva's house I knew more about Jesse than what I ever could have imagined. Like, seriously, it was as if his sister's where trying to cast him in the most positive light they could so I would think the best of him. And I was more than a little surprised when, as I said goodbye, Mapi came to me and said. "I think you're as pretty as Maria, and I like you better."

I was completely puzzled by this but then Jesse walked me to my car – my mom's old Honda Accord – and began to explain which was the quickest and safest way back to the hills so I was paying attention and I forgot to ask him who Maria was.

I shouldn't have worried about that… I would find out soon enough.

.-.-.-.--.-.-.-.

Notes:

Meh, I'm lazy… but I didn't want to go so long without updating so here's a little chapter. I don't know how I feel about it but Maria is showing up in the next chapter, so are the other characters like Paul coughfeetluvacough, Alan and Hailey

Thanks for reading.

Cute but Psycho,

Clavie.


	4. She's Trouble

**THEN CAME YOU**

**Chapter Four: She's Trouble.**

_**Jesse**_

I've found out the biggest most well kept secret of Susannah Simon: She's sweet.

Before I had thought her hot – but I'm a guy, okay, finding a girl hot is merely the natural bodily response – then I thought she was amusing, certainly different from the rest of the preppy girls at the Mission Academy… specially that Debbie girl who kept bugging me at US History to tell her if the Valley was really full of drug dealers and gangbangsters as her boyfriend Brad had told her.

Anyway… Susannah had anger management problems to be sure, I had seen her kneel half of the wrestling team just during the first week back at school, and she had also punched Slater –which made her cool in my book – and each time I corrected her in Spanish – being a little smug, I'll admit – she would look at me furiously and her fingers would twitch around her pencil surely picturing it was my neck and not the pencil what she was snapping.

But I had also seen Susannah laugh with her friend CeeCee and I had seen her patiently hearing when her stepbrother – the youngest one – gave her complete recaps form the latest Discovery Channel documentary he had seen. And there were more little things like that.

She had given me a ride and stayed the whole afternoon with me and my troupe of sisters even when she didn't have to. And the next day when at saw her in the Study Hall she was clutching a little plastic pony. Minty. That's what that blasted pony was called, how do I know you ask? Well, it was only my sister Mapi's favorite topic of conversation: How she needed Minty to finish her 'My Little Pony' collection.

"Here," she said dumping all her stuff in the table and hading me the pony. "Mapi mentioned she needed it for her collection. And, well… my aunt gave it to me AGES ago and I was never into the pony-stuff, I was more of a Care Bears-panties girl."

I was speechless for a whole minute, I think. Not only had she admitted what kind of underwear she wears but she was also doing this one thing that would make my sister really, really happy and she didn't have to do it.

"Uh, thank you Susannah." I said… who would have thought, Susannah Simon, champion of all lost pets and small children.

She shrugged and did something I had never seen her do: she blushed. "It's nothing." She said shyly but then recovered herself and went "So, listen I have this big test coming up and I still don't get how to conjugate in the past thingy that I told you the other day…"

I told her how the "past thingy" was called and helped her to go over the principal verbs. She got about half of them right by the time the hour was up and we were free to go to lunch. We wandered out of the Study hall and into the courtyard together. I was about to split up, you know, go to my own table and eat alone as was my custom when Susannah asked if I wanted to join her and her friend CeeCee.

"Why not?" I answered as I waited for Susannah to sit down next to CeeCee.

As in on cue the three of us pulled brown paper bags out of our backpacks.

"Oh, no! Andy gave me Brad's sandwich again…" Susannah moaned as if in pain. "Wanna switch?" she asked to CeeCee

"Nah, I can't stand mayo and the whole three slices of ham one atop of the other thing."

"I know," Susannah said miserably, "Stupid Dopey needs to gain more weight for the wresting team."

"Um," I said. "I got turkey if you want it." I offered because it was the gentlemanly thing to do. Besides, I'm not a person that goes wild over turkey, actually the only reason why I had turkey was because Marta had been in charge of preparing the bags this morning and she believes that ham has too much salt and saturated fat.

"Really?" Susannah asked all hopeful and I had to bit the inside of my mouth to keep from laughing, I just nodded. Susannah made a swift exchange and said "thanks."

-.-.-.-.-.-

Later that day I got confronted by two sophomores… one I recognized as David – or Doc as Susannah called him – and the other I had seen a couple of times before, hanging around that girl Slater was dating, Susannah's sister.

"Um…" the boy whose name I didn't know said shyly.

"Go on, tell him." David encouraged.

"What is it?" I demanded, perhaps a little roughly.

"Well, I was wondering," the boy said, trying to make his voice as un-squeaky as possible for a 15 year old. He dug into his pocket and handled me something, two tickets to the carnival. "Here, take them."

"Why would I want these?" I'm not fan of the carnival…I only go when I have to because it's the only way to get Tess and Josie to stop whining about it.

"Because if Alan wants to go out with Hailey, he has to get a date for Suze's too and Suze loves the carnival. And well, we want you to take Suze out."

"Yeah, please!" Alan said.

"I understand, I think, but why would I take Susannah out? Besides, she wouldn't go out with me."

"She would go out with you! I heard her talking to CeeCee on the phone the other day, Suze thinks you're hot." I wanted to smile so bad at that but I kept my expression cool. "And she would never go out with anyone else! Believe me, some have tried… and it's very, very important that Suze goes out with you so Alan can go out with Hailey…"

"I still don't see…."

"Look," Alan said, "do me a favor! Is very, very important!"

"But…" I tried to argue but both kids were looking at me so expectantly I couldn't do it. "I'll ask her," I said with a resigned air. "But I will not beg, she say no and that's it! And I get to keep the tickets if she doesn't go."

"SURE!" Both boys yelled excitedly. "We owe you one!"

I waved them off and went my way, tucking the carnival tickets into my back pocket and put the thing off my mind until school let out for the day. I was making my way out of school when I saw Susannah. I fell into step next to her.

"Hey." I said casually as we strolled out.

"Hi! Need a ride?" she said teasing.

"Not today, I got my car back from mom; she's picking up her own car today."

"That's good."

"Hey, listen I got tickets for the carnival…"

"I LOVE THE CARNIVAL!" she said excitedly before I could finish my sentence.

"Do you want to go?" I asked, "You know, in thanks for Minty and all."

"You know the little ponies by name?" she asked amused.

"That's what five sisters will do to you." I shrugged. "So, shall I pick you up at one this Saturday?"

"Sure." She said good-naturally, I could so tell she didn't think this as a date and that was good.

She's was about to give me her address when I heard a rather familiar, irritating little voice.

"Jesse! Darling!"

"_Nombre de Dios, _not her." I muttered and was barely able to refrain myself from cursing.

"Jesse!" she repeated, having spotted me and beginning to make his way towards me.

"Maria, hi." I s aid without enthusiasm "May I introduce you to Miss Simon? Susannah, this is my cousin Maria de Silva."

Maria fixed Susannah with a cold glare which Susannah returned unfazed. "Nice to meet you." Maria said coolly.

"Likewise." Susannah said politely. "I have to go now, if you two excuse me."

"Oh, please allow me to escort you to your car."

"But Jesse, I cam all the way here to talk to you."

"It will only take a moment, Maria, I'll be right back." I said, making no effort to hide my annoyance with her.

I walked with Susannah to her car. "It wasn't necessary."

"You have no idea how necessary it was." I said, holding her door open as she got in. "Maria isn't exactly my cup of tea… but anyway," I wasn't going to discuss her with Susannah, it wasn't gentlemanly to speak foully of someone, even if that someone deserved it. "I'll pick you up tomorrow at one."

"Okay, I'll see you there." Susannah answered me and awarded me with a smile that – for some unknown reason – made my heart start to be at faster. "The address is 99 Pine Crest, okay?"

"99 Pine Crest. Got it." I smiled and closed the door.

I saw her drive away and then steeled myself to go deal with Maria… for someone so pretty she could be very, very foul.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

End of Chapter Four

-.-.-.-.-.

Notes:

More on Maria and Jesse and all of them soon!

And the big date is on the next chapter.

Luv

Crazy, lovely me.


	5. Livin la vida Loca

**Chapter dedicated to BeeBee de Silva, because she made me smile and get back on track. Thanks BeeBee**

**THEN CAME YOU**

**Chapter Five: Livin' la Vida Loca**

_**Suze**_

"My sources tell me that Slater is going to try to take Hailey to the big party at Heather's in two weeks." Dopey said during out Saturday meeting. We had gathered in his room and were currently watching him work out.

"Are you invited to his party?" Jake – Sleepy – wanted to know.

"Of course I am." Dopey said indignant. "Suze is the crazy sociopath, not me."

"I'm not a sociopath, and for your information, I'm invited to the party too." I answered, resisting the urge to congratulate Brad for using la word as long as 'sociopath', as I brushed my hair – having brought along my own brush, no way was I touching Brad's – trying to get it all smooth and shimmery.

"Back to topic." Doc, I mean David admonished. "I say that if we hear that Hailey is going with Paul we tell mom and dad, but if she goes with someone else then that's fine. But Suze and Brad would have to keep an eye on her during said party."

"Whatever." Brad answered while doing another set of weights.

"That'll be fine." I answered.

And just then the clock hit one o'clock and just as it did so the doorbell rung. And like twenty seconds later, mom yelled up the stairs.

"Suzie, someone's here to see you."

To my great surprise I saw David look at his watch and go "Right on time," In a sort of approving way.

I threw him a puzzled glance but he just smiled me all bright and sunny. Doc was a cute kid, with his eras – not as sticky out as before since he was growing up – and red hair… but it was so infuriating when I know he knew something I did not.

"Well, that's my cue." I said standing up and brushing my hip-huggers to smooth them into place. I checked myself in Brad's mirror and began to walk outside when Jake stopped me with a slight scowl.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" he demanded in his I'm-the-big-brother-here voice.

"A friend and I are going to the carnival." I said refusing the mention that it was a "friend" of the male variety…. I've seen Jake with Hailey and he gets WAY crazy when he hears this kind of information. "I'll be back later for us to finish this discussion."

"Who's this friend of yours?" Jake would just not give it up.

"His name is Jesse de Silva." I said rolling my eyes.

"That gang-banger?" Dopey asked outraged.

"A gang-banger? Really Suze, I've told you before I wasn't going to let you run around with some gang-banger from the valley and you…"

"Oh Gosh, he's not a gang-banger… it's like you two – Brad and Jake – have some sort of gang-banger fetish." The boy looked fairly aggravated. "And I don't appreciate your Neanderthal attitude about this."

"And I don't appreciate you using words I don't know," Brad said, just to say something. "I mean fetish? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Well…." Doc began but both Jake and Brad sent him glares that quiet him up. So he just turned to me and said. "Have fun, Suze."

"I will thanks." I said to Doc, ruffling his hair.

I made my way downstairs, bouncing down the stairs. I know I don't really come across as a girl with a 'bounce' in her step but going to the carnival makes me hyper happy. Jesse was standing by the doorway, exchanging pleasantries with Mom and Andy. He was in soft-looking, nicely faded jeans and a plain white t-shirt that went wonderfully with his olive skin. He looked HOT.

But then again, Jesse always looks hot no matter what he's wearing… with those soulful brown eyes and that thick dark hair that more than once I've fantasized about touching… and…

Oops, my mouth is going dry here…

"I'm ready, let's go." I said cheerfully and then to mom and Andy "I'll be back around eight, okay?"

"Suze…" Mom said warningly… as if I am the one who thinks a curfew is merely a suggestion the way Hailey does.

"I'll have her back at eight o'clock, Mrs. Ackerman." Jesse answered for me, all polite and gentlemanly.

I scowled a little.

"Fine," I muttered and turned around to open the door, only that Jesse was right in front of it and wouldn't move, as he said goodbye to my parents.

"It was nice to meet you, Mrs. and Mr. Ackerman." Jesse was saying, again, all politeness.

"Yeah, nice," I said interrupting my mom before she got around saying 'nice to meet you too'. "See you later, guys."

I made my way around Jesse and opened the door, half waving to Mom and Andy as I made my way out.

Jesse followed me and I turned as I heard the door close, I could walk down the driveway with my eyes closed, and so it didn't mind much that I was walking backwards as I talked to Jesse. "Did you have to do that?"

"Do what Susannah?" Jesse asked, pulling his car keys out of his pocket and going to the passenger door of his car – a Red Toyota Camry.

"Don't play dumb duck; you know what I'm talking about!"

He calmly unlocked the door and held it open for me. "I certainly do not know what you mean." And then closed the door just as I was getting ready to answer, he want all around the car and got in behind the wheel.

"I meant," I said angrily. "That whole being-nice-to-Suze's-parents thing."

"I was just being polite," He said, backing up the driveway without nearly hitting the mail box, which is something **I** still have trouble doing. "I don't see anything wrong with that."

I rolled my eyes and sulked a little in my seat. "You just lost all your bad boy appeal, you know."

Jesse chuckled. "I can live with that."

I rolled my eyes once again.

There was just something about Jesse that could make me so mad one second and completely un-mad the next one. It was infuriating, but at the same time it kept pulling me closer.

Closer than what I would have liked… closer than what it was safe.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_**Hailey**_

I couldn't believe it when I heard mom and dad saying that Suze had gone out!

My reject, sociopath sister out! And with a GUY! A real one, granted a Valley one, but Jesse de Silva was hot.

Anyway, I decided to take this chance and call Paul so we could, you know, hang out. I shouldn't have called.

"_Paul," _I said all happy into the phone. _"Guess what?"_

"_Oh, Hailey, what is it?"_

"_Suze is out, with some guy or something… I'm free to go…so I was thinking that if you came for me and we could, you know, hang out at the beach or whatever."_

"_Hailey, I already have plans… In fact I'm with the rest of the Tennis team at the Club. I'm sorry, babe, it'll have to be some other day."_

"_Yeah, whatever."_ I said. "Later." and I hang up.

Bummer!

The one time my socially-challenged sister goes out and my boyfriend has other plans… other plans with the queen skank Kelly Prescott herself. Everyone knows Kelly puts out.

If only Suze would have told me in time! It was all her fault!

So I was there, letting out al my bad energy, lambasting my sister when the doorbell rung. Since I was right there by the door I went and opened it.

"Hailey!" Alan McTavish said all happy to see me… and with good reason, I'm gorgeous. "Hi! I came to invite you over to the movies."

"Um… I'm sorry Alan; you know I can't go out until Suze's does."

"Suze is out." Alan said with conviction. "And I called your parents before coming here, they say it was okay."

"Alan, I…"

"You said you go out with me. If I got a date for Suze. And I did."

I narrowed my eyes at him "You arranged my sister's date?"

He nodded. "That was your condition." He smiled happily. "So…"

I was about to refuse, saying I had homework or something but right then Jake and dad and mom decided to walk by.

"Oh, hello Alan, how are you?" Mom said. Mom loves Alan and all, especially because he's friends with David, the other reject of the family.

"Good, thanks, ma'am. I came to see if Hailey wanted to go to the movies with me."

"Oh, yes David told us." Dad said. David… the little traitor.

Since mom and dad were both enchanted with Alan my only salvation was Jake, who doesn't like any boys near his two sisters, so I was totally sending him all my mind waves. But he decided to betray me too and went. "That sounds lovely." LOVELY! He said LOVELY! "Do you kids need a ride?"

"No, thanks Jake, I brought my car."

Mom, Dad and Jake nodded at once. And they all made their way to the kitchen while saying things like "Be home by eight." "Drive safe" and "Have fun." And I hadn't even said yes!

My family is SO annoying.

"Shall we?" Asked Alan all hopeful and, funny thing, I couldn't stand there and break his heart. So I went out with him.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_**Suze**_

I was having a great time with Jesse. He was funny and all gentlemanly and let me go to whatever ride I wanted and eat all the junk food I wanted and everything. It was like a date… except that it wasn't. Perhaps that part of why I thought it was so much fun.

"So, you're basically running away." Jesse said once I finished telling him my plans for after graduation in a few months.

"I'm not running away, I just don't want to be here." I answered.

"For any particular reason?"

"My home was back in New York," I said, using the speech I had prepared in my mind a thousand times… telling myself I would tell mom how miserable I was in Carmel… if I ever got the courage to break her heart, of course. "Mom had no right to move us here."

"Your Mother had her right to happiness, Susannah." Jesse said, and something in his voice made me realize that he did understand. "I get from where you're coming from, don't get me wrong, I do see your point of view. But people aren't meant to be alone. I've seen it with my mom. She loves my sisters and I, and would do anything for us, but some times she gets this very far away look in her eyes and I know she's thinking about my father… well, not exactly about him, but about what she had with him… like how nice was having someone to share the weight of racing us, and make her laugh and feel safe – we all want to feel safe, Susannah, no matter how independent we think we are – and just be there."

"I guess." I knew he was right, of course, but I wasn't going to stroke his ego by saying it. "Oh, look, love tunnel." I said pointing to the silly game. "Swans are just my thing." I said, referring to the swan-shaped carts.

"Do you want to go?" Jesse asked rising an eyebrow, the one that had that little scar crossing it… a bog bite wound from childhood he had told me.

I shrugged. "It's so lame it has to be done."

"Whatever it pleases you." Jesse said and stirred me towards the short line of couples waiting to enter the tunnel of _loovee._

That ride was what I call the ride from hell. Seriously. It was completely dark. And the second the cart-train thingy began to move, all the couples around us started to make out… like full on, open mouthed explorations… second base and all. And Jesse and I sat there, listening to the stupid music that kept repeating itself in the most annoying way.

By the time we got out of it, Jesse was giving me this really resentful look.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." I said grabbing his arm and hanging to it in a playful way. "You get to pick the next ride; you can torture me all you want."

Jesse looked around for a moment. "I'm afraid we have done all that there is to be done here." He declared.

I looked around, and he was right. "Oops, sorry."

Both our gazes fell on one of the couples we had seen making out at the Tunnel of Love…. And the weirdest thing of all happened. Jesse got this really wicked/sexy smile and went. "There is one thing."

"What-?" I never got to finish my question of 'What is it?" because just as I opened my mouth to ask, Jesse pulled me real close to him and I could feel the heat radiating from his body all along mine. He was so solid and so masculine and so very sexy.

And then his lips came down over mine. Soft, moist, strong lips lingering over my mouth, making my lips tingle and everything inside f me go all squishy.

As the kiss got more intense, Jesse didn't try to shove his tongue into my mouth or anything, it was more like a moist, playful tongue-teasing that I was enjoying oh so very much.

Nothing ever, not the brightest joy or sharpest pain, compared to being kissed by Jesse de Silva. It made me want to cry and laugh at the same time and sigh in contentment.

It's all what it took.

One Kiss.

.-.-.-.-

End of Chapter five

.-.-.-.-

Notes:

Since it took me forever to update, I decided to add some kissing!

Hope you enjoy.

And please, go guilt trip me and review.

Love,

Cute but Psycho Clavie.


	6. No Nonexclusive

_**THEN CAME YOU**_

**Chapter SIX: No Non-exclusive**

_Suze_

Jesse took me home after we kissed, he didn't try to grope me or anything, and he was very, very respectful of me. He had me home exactly at the hour he had said to Andy. He kissed me again in the car, as a goodnight kiss, and then walked me to the door.

We didn't talk about it, which didn't surprise me all that much. After all, gentlemanly or not, Jesse was a guy and guys don't like to talk about these things.

Or so I thought until I had to seat at tutoring with him on Monday.

I was nervous as hell, naturally, I'm a girl and even a girl as confident as I am can get a little nervous when encountering six feet of hot male after you have kissed him – twice – and it's the first time you see him after. Jesse was lounging on his chair, looking all casual and relaxed, he was wearing dark blue jeans and a collar t-shirt that clung to him nicely –without looking all gayish – and he looked good enough to eat.

I was wearing one of my cute slip dresses – pink with delicate flowers embroiled into it – I had spent a whole selecting my clothes, hair and make up to make it seem as if it hadn't taken me a second… but it was all carefully planed!

Anyway, I got to our usual table at the study hall and sat next to him, ready to open my text book and jump in the intricacies of Spanish 101. But Jesse had other things in mind.

"We need to talk, Susannah." He said evenly.

"Okay…" I said, bracing myself for whatever that would come next.

"About what happened the other day… well, I think it was fun and all but I'm not exactly looking for a girlfriend, you know?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I don't want to get attached either." Which was, in all fairness true, I didn't want a boyfriend, I didn't want to subject all my plans to this one other person, I wanted fun… but I also wanted him to kiss me again.

"So I was thinking we could just keep going as we are now… you know, friends."

"Friends…" I said nodding. "Yep that sounds right."

"So… nothing's change? We are where we were last Friday?" He asked cautiously.

I nodded again. "Sure," I said and that was the end of it, we went on as if nothing had happened. He still sat with CeeCee and myself at lunch and helped me with my Spanish homework and all was as it had always been… until my car broke down that day and Jesse drove me home and we ended up making out on his car for full half an hour.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_Jesse_

So the friends just friends thing was way out of the question…

However, neither of us seemed inclined to truly commit to one another so we became friends with benefits. We would go on as if nothing had happened at all, and hang out together and make out when it suited us. We weren't exclusive, Susannah made that clear one day when I had interrogated her rather jealously – or so she said – about the way she was talking with one of our fellow senior classmates.

So we weren't exclusive… and still, just a mare week later, when Maria chose to drop by the school, Susannah mounted on a rather jealous fit, even if I say so myself.

"I thought you didn't like her." Susannah spat once I had managed to force Maria into her car and go away.

She was right, of course, I didn't like Maria but Susannah looked rather enchanting with her face all flushed in anger. "She's kin; one must always be nice to the family."

Susannah glared at me and stalked away towards her own car and drove away.

I shrugged, it was Friday, I would see her on Monday. No, actually, it would be that Saturday night… she had asked me to go to this party with her. Her sister was going, presumably with one of his classmates but Slater would be there and she wanted to keep her eyes on it, just in case. One thing I had learned in the time I had known Susannah: She hated Paul Slater.

And she hated that he was courting her sister, Hailey.

Once or twice I had wondered if she was mad that Slater was courting Hailey and not her, but it soon became obvious to me that it wasn't sister jealousy, Susannah really hater Slater. There's a good reason, she said, and left it like that. Slater was trouble, which was clear. He was just the type of guy I wouldn't allow within 20 feet from my sisters, so I understood. And I had agreed to go to said party with her.

I tried to call her later that day, to make sure if we were still going to Heather's for the party, but she was "Washing her hair" Dopey informed me. If not she had "Just ran out to the store." Said the oldest of her step brothers, Jake. Saturday morning Doc answered the phone.

"She's been on a temper all night." He informed it in conspiracy tones. "And this morning was no better. What did you say to her?"

"Never mind that," I said impatiently. "Is she still going to the party at Heather's later?"

"Yeah, we have a meeting yesterday, she's leaving about seven, so don't be late."

I grunted my response and Doc hanged up.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_Hailey_

Come here lets go party!

I was so excited, surprisingly none of my brothers had objected me going to the party with Alan McTavish – who was sweet and had been trailing behind me for the last two weeks since I had agreed to go with him to the movies – and Mom and Dad were fine with me going anyway, since Suze and Brad would both be there at the party.

I was in my room getting dressed and checking every last bit of my appearance. Paul would meet me at the party and we would have fun. I did feel a touch bad about ditching Alan but in all truth and fairness, I had never done anything to encourage him or make him believe I liked him as something else than a good friend… no matter how much Doc was already planning the Wedding Breakfast.

"Hey, may I borrow this?" Suze said, coming into my room and snatching a couple of my hair clips.

"Sure," I said… and restrained myself from commenting that she was too old to wear hairclips. I let her be, however. I had long since desisted on the idea of the sociopath I had for sister wearing fashionable clothes and behaving like most human beings.

Alan was there for me at seven sharp, not a second late which was nice compared to how long Paul usually made me wait for him when he had meetings with his Tennis Club.

I was wearing a very cute black slip dress with tiny red rose buds embroiled into it, it was one of Suze's dresses, but she didn't wear it anymore alleging that it had grown too short for her, but it was okay for me since I was good two inches shorter than her. I looked good… and I got enough proof of it when Alan's jaw dropped when he saw me.

I just hoped I would get the same reaction for Paul.

Just as Alan and I left, Suze's 'friend' Jesse came hauling up the front steps. He was wearing black jeans and a bottle green sweater with what looked to be a plain black t-shirt underneath. Not exactly the best party clothes out there but on that guy, everything looked good.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_Suze_

Hailey was gone. It was time I left too.

I wasn't too enthused with going to this party, after all I was dateless and quite pissed still with Jesse for being so evasive about the Maria-subject. I put on a denim mini dress and grabbed my favorite sweater and headed out, yelling to mom and Andy that I would be back before my curfew.

Since Jesse and I weren't talking, I was surprised to see him standing on my doorway, looking all Mr. Hot himself.

"What are you doing here?" I asked surprised.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

End of Chapter Six.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Notes:

Sorry it took so long, I'm trying to get back on track.

Thanks for your patience and I hope you still like this.

All the love in the world plus shipping and handling,

Clavie.


	7. We are here to Party

**THEN CAME YOU**

_Chapter SEVEN: We are here to party_

_**Suze**_

"Would it kill you to leave it on one station for more than five seconds?" Jesse asked, somewhat annoyed with the fact that I had changed the radio station at least ten times since we had gotten into the car back at my house.

I didn't think he was going to show up…. I really didn't. I mean, he was a smart guy and I hadn't been answering his calls so I thought he would be able to figure out that message, but of course, I should have known better. This was Jesse, Jesse had promised me to go to the party with me and he was going…. And nothing in hell, heaven or anything in between that was going to stop him.

Knowing I wouldn't get rid of him easily, I just said "FINE" and walked to my car, got into the driver's seat and opened the passenger door. He wasn't pleased, he absolutely HATES the way I drive, but I wasn't getting in his car… where it smelt strongly of him… that crisp masculine smell, almost like cinnamon, that always made me melt and jump his bones at the same time.

So no sir! I wasn't getting in his car, and I wasn't going to let him drive mine! Besides, I knew where Heather lived, he totally didn't.

We arrived at the party and it was already in full swing. Alcohol was flowing quite freely and Heather was running around shrieking her head off trying to prevent people from breaking vases of destroying furniture. I couldn't help to laugh a little at that. But as I scanned the room, Jesse standing right by my side and looking bored already, I noticed that:

Slater was no where in sight.

Alan McTavish was standing dejectedly by a corner.

Hailey was, also, nowhere in sight.

Brad was making out with Debbie Mancuso.

Normally I don't care were Brad sticks his tongue – though he did came down with Mono last summer thanks to Debbie, but he just never learns – but he was supposed to be tracking Hailey!

I made my way towards Brad and smacked him hard in the back of the head.

"Hey! Whatever that was for?" He said in his pissed-off voice.

"Where's Hailey?" I demanded right away.

"Over there with David's friend," He said waving casually towards where Alan was standing.

"Look again, Brad." I said dryly.

"Suze… I'm telling you they are right over…" Brad looked and saw that Hailey was no where around. "Shit." He muttered and removed Debbie from his lap. "I look upstairs; you look in the back of the house."

I nodded and turned to Jesse. "You grab a soda and look pretty."

Jesse gave me a very sarcastic look and disappeared among the crowd.

Now all I had to do was find Hailey.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_**Hailey**_

Here's the one thing I learned about Paul: he's not such a good conversationalist in other topics aside from himself. I had never had a chance to talk to him for such long a time and I couldn't help thinking of Alan, he at least could talk about something else, geeky as that else might be, it was something.

"Hailey!" Suze's furious voice reached my ears in a second and I tensed completely.

Oh, dear, how mortifying this could get?

"Suze! I didn't know you were coming…"

She caught my arm and pulled me aside none to gently, my temper flared. "Would you mind? You know I bruise easily."

"As I recall," Suze said, cutting to the chase as usual. "Your date was Alan, not Scum-bag. Am I correct?"

"Well, yes…"

"And then why, pray tell, you're here standing with Scum-bag, while Alan is all alone by the couch?"

I narrowed my eyes at her. "You don't get a say on what I do Suze! I'm old enough to know what I'm doing."

"Are you? Really? Because right now you're acting like a petty little girl. It's not a game, Hailey! You're hurting that boy in your quest to date Paul-Serial-shagger-Slater."

I wanted to answer but my jaw was clenched shut. "Is she bothering you, Hailey?" Paul said coming to my side.

I nodded mutely as Suze snapped. "Stay out of this,"

Paul wrapped his arm around my waist and began to stir me away from Suze, then he paused, gave me a little push forward and returned to say something to Suze to which she answered with an angry hiss of "Fuck off."

I smirked; Paul always made Suze lose her composure, as stated by the fact that just after Paul reached my side again, I saw Suze grab one of those vodka-jelly shots they were passing around.

As Paul and I joined the group of his friends I saw Alan in a corner… and all the triumph I felt over Suze died away, and I felt lower than low. Yep. For the first time in my life, I, Hailey Simon-Ackerman, felt like dirty scum.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_**Jesse**_

So… the music sucked, the drinks sucked, the whole party was boring and I hadn't seen Susannah in over an hour since he told me to "Grab a soda and look pretty."

I decided to look for her. I don't know why, I just got one bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew when, a few moments later when I saw her drinking straight from a Tequila bottle. I stalked towards her and tugged the bottle out of her gasp.

"Hey! I was drinking that." She said in a drunken slur.

"I think you have had enough. C'mon, I'm taking you home."

"No!"

"Yes, now!"

"No, I don't want to." She said, digging her feet on the rug so I couldn't drag her towards the door. She crossed her arms over her chest mutinously and stared at me challenging. I stared down at her.

"For your sake, I hope you're wearing underwear." I told her with a smirk.

"What?" She asked puzzled half a second before I picked her up and swung her unceremoniously over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She kicked and screamed a little but I didn't loosen my hold on her until we were out in the garden and I dumped her over a stone bench.

"Did you have to do that?" She demanded, still more than a little bit drunk.

"Because you were being a very bad drunken stupid girl."

"Hey! I might be drunk… and I might be bad and I'm most definitely a girl but I'm not STUPID so don't call me that."

"It's hard not to when you're acting stupid."

"Hey!" she said and attempted to sucker punch me, but I had to merely move aside and she walked right by me, tripped and nearly fell, only that I caught her before she could kiss the grass.

"Oh dear…" she said, hanging limply from my arms. "I'm going to throw up."

I let her fall to her knees and held her hair as she threw her guts up. Not a pretty sight but at least I didn't get any on my shoes and she didn't threw up all over herself, which would have been inconvenient since she would stink all the way to her home. After wards I dug my pocket for a handkerchief and whipped her face clean. By then she was crying in this big sobs that rob your breath.

My anger died swiftly as I pulled her away from 'the scene of the crime' and threw away my handkerchief. We sat in the hood of her car and I pulled her close, she kept crying and buried her face in my shirtfront.

"Why do you do this to yourself, Susannah?" I asked quietly as I stroked her hair over and over.

Eventually she calmed down and if not completely sober at least a good deal less drunken, she told me she wanted to go home. Before I could ask she gave me the keys of her car and I opened the passenger door for her and then sat behind the wheel. Susannah curled herself up in the seat and opened the window to let the cool night air sober her up a bit more.

I parked the car on her driveway and helped her out, gave her back her keys and walked her to the doorway. "Thanks," She said quietly, not meeting my gaze. Then she nodded and stumbled inside, her balance not completely back yet.

I sighed and shook my head; she could be such a stubborn piggy-head. She was tough, tougher than just the obvious I-can-pull-out-your-guts-and-use-them-as-earrings kind of way, but then she would so something or say something and you knew she was also sweet and caring –even if she denied it – and sometimes… like now, she just seemed so lost and vulnerable and it really wrung my heart to see her that way.

I turned from her doorway and went down to my car. The good long drive home would help to clear my head.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_**Alan**_

"This party is so dead." I heard Kelly Prescott, one of the popular seniors, said to her group of friends, among them Paul Slater, and by his side was Hailey.

"You're so right," Another random guy said. "I say lets go to my beach house."

"Yeah," Slater said.

"Uh, I gotta go, my curfew is in half an hour." Hailey said shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

The seniors laughed and began to move in group to the door, and Hailey was standing there.

"Paul," She said quietly. "Could you drive me home?"

Slater stopped for a second, then grinned and shook his head. "Sorry babe, gotta go."

Hailey's jaw dropped and stood as if frozen for two full minutes. Then she looked around, searching for someone to take her home, I'm sure. When she saw me she smiled brightly and walked over me.

"I'm ready to go." She said as if we had been hanging together the whole night.

I frowned at her but took her out of the party and drove her home. And then we sat in silence for ten minutes at her driveway. "I had a really nice time," She said, again, all bright and sunny.

I laughed and it wasn't a nice sound. "I'm sure Slater is very entertaining." I pointed out.

"Alan…" She said softly, kind of ashamed. Good.

"Look, Hailey, I'm tired, it was a long night and… I thought you were different, I thought I was so lucky that I could take you out and hang with you… but now that I've actually done it, let me tell you something: it's not something I care to repeat. You're just one more of the bunch of popularity hungry girls of our grade. And I for one am not going to spend night after night waiting for you to look my way."

I looked at her and she had an expression on her face such as if I had slapped her, I wanted to feel bad about it but my pride wouldn't let me. "You better go inside," I said in a monotone.

"Alan…"

"Hailey."

"I'm sorry."

I nodded and let her go without further commentary.

.-.-.-.-.-.

End of Chapter Seven


	8. Can You keep a Secret?

**THEN CAME YOU**

_Chapter Eight: **Can you keep a secret?**_

_**Suze**_

My head was pounding, my mouth tasted rather foul and I had the uncanny certainty that I had made a fool of myself the night before in front of Jesse.

I had been drunk.

God, I had cried.

I hadn't cried in front of anyone since my dad died all those years ago.

"_Take care of Hailey and your mom, okay?" He had told me right before he went out for his morning jog and had a heart attack._

"_Yeah, dad." I said, not taking my eyes of the morning cartoons._

"_Be a good girl, Suze." He said and this time I did turn to see him._

"_Am I ever anything but?" I said as sassy as a six year old could manage. _

And that was the last time I saw him. But I had tried to do just like he told me: be good and take care of mom and Hailey. Only that lately I hadn't done such a good job…

I felt like crying all over again. So –against the piercing pain in my skull – I got up and took a shower because there, even if I cried, I could pretend I hadn't. After my shower I swallowed a couple of aspirins and dressed in my oldest jeans – the ones mom had tried to throw out time and again – and a simple pink t-shirt. I even pulled my hair back in a ponytail –something that I never did – to keep the hair out of my face.

I slumped down the stairs. Hailey was sitting there and for once she wasn't completely pissed as she usually was a morning after a party after Andy and Mom had tongue lashed her about her curfew. Maybe that was because Mom and Andy weren't there.

"Where…?" I asked as I made my way to the refrigerator for some juice.

"Mom and Dad took David to that science club honor breakfast thing."

"Oh." I said. "Did they…?"

"Notice you were wasted last night? No. I don't think so, they didn't say anything."

"You…?"

"Alan dropped me on time." She said. She was very distracted; answering me… usually she would have said a very snotty 'fuck off' or 'none of your businesses' or, my favorite, 'get a fucking life'.

"Oh, that's good."

"Yeah, I'm not grounded." She said an attempted a smile. "Jake went to the store but I'll advise you to disappear, he was rather pissed you got here drunk last night." Hailey continued. "Wanted to give you a piece of his mind."

"Like he has a say on it."

"He's our big brother."

I was about to grunt 'stepbrother' but for once I couldn't. I thought that we had been living here for four… almost five years now, and Hailey had known Andy exactly as long –if not longer- as she had known dad. Andy and the three dwarves were home to her; more than what New York and Dad had ever been and suddenly I felt so sad.

"Are you okay?" Hailey asked.

"Uh? Yes, yeah, I think I'll go now… I wanted to go to Jesse's and thank him for bringing me home last night." I said and turned from her.

"You do that." She said and managed a smile of sorts.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_**Jesse**_

I was mowing the lawn of our front yard, as I did every Sunday, when Susannah's car parked in front of my house. She was wearing big sun-glasses even when the sun wasn't even that high at ten in the morning. It was a rather misty morning.

"Hey," She said coming close to me.

"Hey," I said and turned off the mower.

"Um… listen. I just wanted to thank you… for last night. I was a jerk and… well, thanks."

"You said that yesterday, you know. I didn't think you were wasted enough not to remember." I said, slightly amused. She was blushing now, looking all embarrassed.

"I don't remember much. It happens when I get mad."

I nodded. "Why did you get mad?" I asked as I began to put grass I had cut into a plastic bag so I could throw it in the trash.

Susannah sighed and, seeing me struggling with the bag, took it from me and held it open. "It's the Paul thing… again. Last night he said…"

"What?" I wanted to know, why she always lost control when it came to Slater.

She shrugged. "Something about Hailey. I can deal with whatever he says or does to me… but I just lose control when it's about her." That I could understand. "See… I promised I would take care of her… and last night, Paul kind of threw in my face that I haven't done a very good job at it."

"You shouldn't care what he says." I told her as if she were a few sandwiches short of a picnic. "He does it on purpose, Susannah, because he knows that upsets you and then you pay attention to him."

She sighed miserably. "I know."

"Jesse!" I heard Mapi's voice as she ran down the steps. Susannah winced; her head was probably hurting with hangover. "Mom says breakfast is ready."

"Okay, I'll be right in."

"Are you staying Suze?"

"Er… I don't know, I wouldn't like to impose."

"Is okay, Mom made a ton of food. The more to feed the happier she is." Mapi said and ran up the steps into the house again, yelling over her shoulder an "I'll tell her you're staying."

Susannah winced again.

"Bit of a headache?" I asked.

"Hurts like a bitch." She answered ruefully.

"See, that's why one shouldn't drink. Come on, now," I said. Susannah pulled her sunglasses up as we walked into the house. Her eyes were a little red like she had cried recently but I decided not to comment about it.

"Suze!" My mom said, coming out of the kitchen with a big jar of orange juice. "How are you, dear? We just don't see enough of you around here."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_**Hailey**_

"Kids! we are back!" Mom yelled. "Weren't you right then when we left, honey?" Mom asked.

"Uh, yeah."

"Have you moved at all?" David asked.

"Uh, not really."

"Is there a reason for it?" Dad asked.

I shook my head.

"Hey, I'm home!" Suze said cheerfully.

"Oh, hi honey." Dad said. "Where were you?"

"Went to see Jesse, to thank him for driving me home last night and his mom let me stay for breakfast."

"Oh, that's nice of her," Mom said and Suze nodded happy.

"Next time make sure to take something, they are always feeding you." Andy said. "Let me know and I'll make a cake or something."

"Okay, I'll. I'm going up to do my homework." Suze said after grabbing a diet coke and an apple. "Would you help me with my history essay, Dave?"

David sighed resignedly, the burdens of being the smart one of the family. "All right, but only for a couple of hours, Alan is coming over and we are going to try to hack the school's web page."

"Alan's coming?" I asked, after last night I didn't think he would.

David looked at me. "Yeah, as he always does on Sundays? Are you okay Hailey?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah." I said as calm as I could. "I think I'll do my homework too."

"Since when?" Suze had to ask and I gave her the evil eye.

See, if at least I tried to do my homework, they I could go to David and Alan with a cry for help… and maybe, just maybe, I could apologize to Alan again. I didn't know why but suddenly, him liking me again was something I wanted very bad.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

End of Chapter Eight


	9. Weird Like Me

**THEN CAME YOU**

**Chapter NINE: _Weird like Me_**

_**Hailey**_

Okay, it was my bad.

I took so long getting ready that there was no way to appear casual about it and just go into David's room with a cry for help with my biology essay or whatever.

So I had to wait until Monday to make amends with Alan.

Why it was so important I didn't know. Lots of people thought of me as being one of the most awesome little inventions since Velcro, but Alan's words kept pounding in my brain. He had been right, and that was what hurt the most.

The thing was… I didn't want to be what he had truthfully accused me of being. I had always been well liked, I fitted right in at the Mission Academy… but I was never as popular as, say, Paul. And the thought of being with the Beautiful People may had blinded me a little of the things I was doing.

Alan had always been nice to me… I knew he had a crush on me and I had used him. And I couldn't well like myself and keep my naturally high self esteem knowing how low I had gone.

So Monday morning I approached him during lunch. He and David were sitting over the geek-only section and I made my way towards them.

"Hey!" I said cheerfully.

"Hey," David said and Alan just grunted and bent down pretending to be very interested in his comic. I shot David a look and nodded for him to get loss for a second.

He looked at me as if inquiring what I was up to. I just motioned for him to go. After a stares duel he sighed. "I'm going for a soda," David said and left.

"Alan?"

"Yes, you can copy my math homework." He said without looking at me.

"Is not that." I said and I couldn't keep the hurt out of my voice. He thought me an air-head bimbo and whereas I wasn't a rocket scientist it still hurt. "I want to talk to you."

"Why? Is Slater busy?"

"I haven't seen him all day."

"That explains it all…"

I ignored the gibe. "I wanted to apologize for the way I behaved." I saw him tense for a second, his gaze fixed on one spot on the comic. "I was a stupid cow, I feel awful. I'm sorry."

He looked up and gave me a level stare. "Why are you apologizing Hailey… really, tell me the truth. Because if you're doing it just to make yourself feel better you can just…"

"It's not that. Alan, I'm really sorry. I know I acted horrible and it was wrong, that's why I'm apologizing."

He stared at me for a few moments, as if deciding if I was telling the truth or just lying to get what I wanted. I held his gaze, I owed him that much.

"So… are you going to copy my math homework or not?" He asked after a while.

"No. I did do my own this time… though it would be really helpful if you could look over it." I said with a grin and moved to sit closer to him.

This was nice.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_**CeeCee**_

Suze and Jesse were making out, hidden behind a column as not to give a show but I that was standing close by could totally see that there were hands everywhere.

Friday they had argued.

Saturday Suze had gotten drunk at Kelly's party and Jesse took her home.

Sunday Suze apologized for being a piggy head.

And on Monday they were back to their no-non-exclusive arrangement. Kissing and talking and laughing and looking happy together. If they weren't in love they were giving a hell of a good imitation.

A week later – meaning now – they were already being acknowledged as one of the Mission's official couples. A dubious honor but they didn't seem to mind all that much.

Finally emerging from behind the column, they made their way towards me. "I'll see you before leaving." Jesse said and Suze nodded.

Once Jesse was gone – and Suze and I spent a couple of moments staring after his retreating bum – Suze leaned against my locker and sighed happily.

"Oh, Cee! This is wonderful!" She said cheerfully.

"You certainly look happy."

"I am!" She said. "It's so odd; I don't remember feeling this happy in ages! Is so dumb and foolish! But I can't help it! It's almost as if…"

"… You were in love?" I offered helpfully.

"Oh, Cee, don't be silly… love." She shook her head. "I'm going to class now. See you on sixth period!"

She began to make her way down the hall. I sighed and went the opposite way.

"CeeCee!" I heard Adam's cheerful voice greeting me down the hallway, in front of the classroom.

"Hey, Adam." I said and managed to keep my cool. You're not to know it but I've had the silliest most dumb crush on Adam since elementary school. But I don't think he notices me all that much…

"Listen…" he said, looking down and blushing for some odd reason… "I was wondering, that is if you're not busy… that you maybe… would consider… would you like to go for a coffee after school today?"

Maybe I was wrong…

"Sure!" I said and he sighed in relief.

This is getting interesting.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_**Jesse**_

Susannah and I were alone in the TV room at her house.

Her parents were out but her oldest stepbrothers were upstairs and stopping by the room every few moments to 'ask if we needed anything'. Not that we were doing anything in particular.

We were watching a movie. Last week she had made me sit through one of her silly girly movies and now we were enjoying The Godfather. Well, I was enjoying it. She just had eyed the DVD cover when I had brought it over and told me that if that was my idea of romance I wasn't likely to get any in the near future.

But never the less, Susannah sat with me to watch the movie, she was half lying in the couch, her head on my stomach.

"This is boring," She said and chewed on some popcorn.

"Shh, be quiet."

"No, really, I thought I could live through it but it's like… that movie about dead poets or something… like two hours that just won't come back to me."

"Susannah…" I said warningly, she was making me miss the important speech between Michael and Vito.

She sat up suddenly and put the movie in mute. Before I could ask what she was doing she said "Let's talk."

By which, of course, she meant 'lets make out'.

And what is a guy to do in such situations?

Let's just say that for the next half hour, I didn't give a damn about Marlon Brandon.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

End of Chapter NINE

.-.-.-.-.-.-

Notes:

Hey, I'm sorry for the shortness but I got a school project do to and I just didn't want to go so long without an update.

So here you go.

Click the review button and let me know what you think!

Luvness,

Clavie


	10. Just Ask

**THEN CAME YOU**

**Chapter Ten: Just Ask**

_**Suze**_

Life with Jesse on it turned out to be more pleasant that what I had imagined. I always thought myself a feminist – not, you know, crazy feminist that even affected my ability to dress like a woman (a very stylish one, if I do say so myself) – the type of girl who didn't need a guy to make her feel better, but there was just something so nice about having someone to cuddle with when I felt like it, someone who would sit through a Drew Barrymore movie without complaining (much) and all that stuff boyfriends are supposed to do,

Kissing wasn't bad either.

Far from bad actually.

Okay, to tell you the truth, Jesse had been getting into my bra lately. And he was very sweet about it too, and oddly respectful. You can really learn a lot of things from a guy when his hands are on your boobs, let's just say that.

And his family, gosh, I loved his family and they were all nice to me.

It would have been perfect but there was a small problem… I was getting attached, and it was almost certain I would be going out to New York by the end of the upcoming summer.

I knew I should be talking about it with Jesse… but I couldn't. Each time I tried to talk about it, break if of or whatever, I found myself tongue-tied and unable to bring myself to say the words.

Meanwhile, spring was coming fast and with it, The Spring Fling. And for once in my life I was excited about it since I already had someone to go and wouldn't be sitting at home with CeeCee giving each other manicures and dissing the dance. Besides, CeeCee had a date too, so that was cool.

And what was best of all: Hailey seemed to have cut most ties with Paul Slater. I mean, sure, she still thought he was hot and from time to time I heard news that someone had seen them making out somewhere, but those rumors started to become less and less frequent and instead I saw her hanging out with David and Alan more and more.

Don't get me wrong, Hailey was still a Princess of the Class, and David and Alan were still The Biggest Nerds Around, and most people only thought Hailey was using them to improve her grades – which had been suffering since she had started attempting to date Scumbag-Slater – but I knew better.

So, for once in my life everything seemed to be where it was supposed to.

I was even getting along with Jake and Brad. We had bonded over keeping Hailey apart from Slater.

It was one of those moments when life was good, and I thought it was as perfect as it could be… and I would be going off in a few months time, never to return again as it had been my plan for the last four years. Only that, somehow, it didn't quite sound so fabulous as before.

And then, everything went to hell.

It wasn't that I didn't get into NYU because I did… it was just everything else.

**.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**

_**Hailey**_

So, we were just having breakfast. Fairly typical morning at the Ackerman-Simon household: Brad was stuffing all the toast into his mouth as he needed to gain at least two pounds, Jake was going on and on about the repairs he had to do to his Camaro, David was going over some notes – I think we had a test that morning – and Suze was complaining about how she wouldn't fit into her swimsuit anymore if Andy kept making Belgian waffles for breakfast.

I was thinking about the Spring Fling.

Every year the senior class threw a party for the underclassmen called The Spring Fling, and it was the most important dance following the Winter Formal and before the Prom. And it was the one dance everyone could go to, even the lowly freshmen.

It was The Party.

And I was having a hard time deciding whom I was going to go with. I had already been asked by two juniors and a senior. And refused all three of them, I wanted to go but I just wasn't sure whom I was going to go with, whom I wanted to go with.

There was Paul, of course. And there was Alan.

None of them had asked me yet… and I wasn't sure what I would say when they did.

**.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**

_**Paul **(A week later)_

It was time to ask Hailey Simon to the Spring Fling.

She was, after all, the most popular girl at school and I – as the most popular guy – had to go with her, which would bother Suze and that would be an added bonus.

"Hailey," I called her as we crossed paths in the breezeway.

"Oh, hi Paul." She said, shuffling her books.

"Are you ready for the Spring Fling? I'll pick you up at seven. Look pretty." I said and gave her a kiss on the cheek. And went on my merry way.

"Yeah, Paul, about that I-"

"See you at seven." I said and moved along.

I should have known, of course, that it would only be a matter of hours before Suze got wind of it and came to yell at me.

"You're not going out with my sister," She practically yelled at me as I made my way to my car.

"Sorry, Suzie, too late for that."

"You're not. Over my dead body!"

"That can be arranged," I said pleasantly. Man, she was hot.

"Well, I'm not going to the dance, so she can't go either." She said, crossing her arms and giving me a superior look.

I must admit, that tweaked me enough to say what I said next. "But, Suze, you're going. With Rico, right? I must admit, I never thought he would do such a good work out of you."

"What the hell do you mean?"

"Well… didn't you know that Rico has been seeing you because I told him to?"

"That's not true." Suze said defiantly.

"It is too."

"Jesse doesn't even like you."

"I doubt that has anything to do with it."

"You're sick Paul. Jesse wouldn't do that."

Infuriatingly, she was right, but she didn't need to know that. Once the doubt was in her head she would be like a runaway train.

"Well… believe what you want. All you have to do is ask."

Suze went white and stalked away from me.

Ahh… a good intrigue was like a good bra: it crosses the chest and divides.

**.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**

_**Jesse**_

"Susannah," I said as I slid my arm across her shoulders. "Are you alright?"

"Fine." She said but she didn't sound fine.

"Um, I just wanted to ask you if we are going to the dance next week, because we are I need to dry clean my suit."

"Why are you asking?"

"Because you were talking about with your friend CeeCee the other day about it?" I answered, rising my eyebrows, she sounded most weird indeed.

"And Paul Slater has nothing to do with it?"

"Paul Slater?" I asked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Paul told me you only asked me out first because he told you to."

"And you believed him?" I said with no small amount of incredulity on my voice.

"I-I don't know."

"Well, Susannah if you don't know that much about me I don't know what we have been doing the last few months." I said angrily.

"Maybe, I-I just need to be alone and think." She said.

"Fine." I said and turned to leave. "Just one thing, Susannah, one thing for you to think: Who are you gonging to believe? Slater or me? Think carefully about that."

**.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**

_**Suze**_

Okay, so Jesse had a point.

Whom I was going to believe?

It seemed simple but if Jesse had been lying from the beginning then everything was really screwed up. I knew Jesse. I thought I knew Jesse. I simply didn't know.

See, that's why I didn't exactly like dealing with emotions. It always messed everything up.

And I had yet to talk to Hailey, as soon as she got home.

By diner time I was worried she hadn't arrived home yet, but as I sat to eat with the rest of the family, it turned out Hailey had been home all along, in her room and she had pleaded that she felt sick and so stayed in her room through diner.

I finished quickly and thankfully was Brad's time to do the dishes so I was free to run upstairs and clear some things up with Hailey.

"Come in," She called in a faint voice I knew she used with Mom to get her to believe she was sick. I opened the door and she was lying on her side pretending to be sleepy. "Oh, it's you." She said when she saw me and switched positions, lying on her stomach in the bed and turned the TV on and began to change channels every few seconds. "What do you want?"

"You can't go with Slater to the dance."

"Says who?" She asked defiantly.

"Says me."

"You're not my mother, and you're not in charge."

"You can't go out with him! He's mean and…"

"And I know, you have said this before." She said tiredly and switched the TV off. "But you know? Before you burst into my room making demands you should bother to get the facts straight. You didn't even bother to ask me if I wanted to go with Paul to the dance, you just ordered me not to."

"Hailey… It's really the best thing?"

"Is it? Just because you're afraid of Paul."

"I'm not afraid of Paul!" I said. "I despise Paul."

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Yes, why? You have never bothered to tell me! You just ordered me not to."

"Because he just wants one thing from you, and it's not just to annoy me." I said.

"Suze, that's a lame-o excuse and even you know it."

I took a deep breath, this was confession time. A secret I had been saving for four years already. "Once upon a time I went out with Paul."

"WHAT! But YOU HATE HIM!"

"I know." I said, looking away. "It was just after we moved here and I was so pissed off and angry. And he was the most popular boy on my grade and supposedly a nice good guy. We went out for like two seconds, of course, but that's all what took him to try to get me into giving him a blow job. You know, I was fourteen! And had no business giving some guy a blow job, but Paul didn't understand. So I hit him, broke his nose and told him to remain a hundred paces away from me for the rest of my life."

"What?" Hailey asked in surprise. "Why didn't anyone tell me? Like at school?"

"Because no one knows." I said tiredly. "I told Paul that if he said anything about us, I would tell everyone how extremely skinny he had one thing."

"No? For real?"

I nodded, and couldn't help to laugh. "Tiny."

"Oh, my gosh!" She giggled.

"I know," I said and felt like it was safe to get back on track. "The thing is, Hailey, that I don't want you making the same mistakes I did."

"I won't, Suze." Hailey said, sounding more mature than what I had ever heard her sound. "I'm not going to the Spring Fling with Paul. I would have told you had you asked me… but you just jump into conclusions some times."

"I know," I said, remembering Jesse and how Cow-like I had acted earlier. "Paul said Jesse only asked me out because he told him to."

"And you believed him?" Hailey asked surprised. I shrugged. "Oh, Suze, that's really messed up. But do you want to know the truth? I'll tell you. Yes, Paul told Jesse to ask you out so he- Paul – could have the road free with me; we actually planned it all together. But Jesse told him no, that he wasn't a man whore and send him to hell. I think Jesse even called Paul a Pimp, but I'm not sure. And I think, at first, Jesse only liked you because you disliked Paul as much as him."

"Really?" I asked hopeful to my baby sister, whom seemed to be wiser than what I ever gave her credit for. "Jesse never accepted?"

"Never."

"I knew, it of course."

"Of course," Hailey agreed.

"Well, I suppose I should call him and apologize, shouldn't I?"

"Yep."

**.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**

End of Chapter Ten

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OKAY, I know I suck! I neglected this story for months, I'm sorry.

There are only like two chapters left and I hope I can type them all within the next two weeks.

Love you guys, and thanks for reading this story, means a lot to me.

Clavie.

Ps. please review!


	11. Spring Fling Date

**THEN CAME YOU**

**Chapter Eleven: Spring Fling**

_**Hailey**_

For someone so smart, Alan wasn't all that good at taking a hint. I had been sitting with him and David regularly at lunch for the last few weeks, and had study group with him as well, since he was helping me with French, and each time we were alone I would drop little hints about the Spring Fling, but he was obvious.

"You know," I said sweetly one day at study hall even though we were supposed to be quiet. "I saw the perfect dress for the Spring Fling the other day…"

"That's great." He said, looking at the French verbs I had written down.

"Too bad I don't have a date, yet." I said with an overly dramatic sigh.

He stopped reading for moment, and lifted his head from the paper.

"Aren't… aren't you going with Paul?"

"What? No!" I said outraged. "I mean, he said we would go but I never said I would go with him."

"Uh… he has been saying up and down that you're going with him."

"Well, I'm not." I said firmly… so maybe that's why he hadn't asked me.

"Good to know," He said and I swear he hid a smile as he went back to the verbs. "You spelled this one wrong." He said, all business.

I finally lost it. "Aren't you going to ask me?" I demanding, giving him a bit of a shove in the shoulder.

Alan dropped his pen and turned to me, surprising me by circling my waist with his arm and pulling me in for a kiss. And you know something? For someone so geeky, Alan certainly did know how to kiss a girl and make her feel special and cherished like she was the most important thing in the universe.

I sighed into his lips when the kiss ended.

"So… what color is this dress you deem perfect for Spring Fling?" He asked. "For corsage buying purposes."

"Light pink."

"I should have known." He said and kissed my cheek. "Hailey, would you go to Spring Fling with me?" He asked.

"Yes!" I said and threw my arms around him. And we kissed again, until a novice came and told us that PDA was not acceptable and kicked us out of the library.

**.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**

_Suze_

It had took some convincing but finally Father Dominic told me that Jesse had been excused from his after lunch classes because he had something to do at his sisters' school. And so I begged and begged until he excused me from my classes too and I was free to make my way to Carmel Elementary.

I asked after the De Silva girls to a teacher and it turned out she was Mapi's teacher and asked me if I was there for the special presentation the Spanish club was having.

I said I was and she promptly showed me to the languages' room. I slipped in the back and stood as inconspicuous as possible. Jesse was sting on a chair in front of what I assumed was the Spanish club, and he had a guitar with him and was playing a song and singing along in Spanish with his sisters.

They finished and everyone clapped, I did too though I barely understood a word. It had sounded so nice. The De Silva siblings left the front of the room while the next performers got ready to do their song and in the movement of people I lost track of Jesse. I saw his sisters return to their seats, but he wasn't there.

The next song started, it was slower, almost like singing poetry.

I sighed, closing my eyes trying to make out the words and then I became aware of someone standing next to me, his breath close to my ear.

"Do you want me to tell you what it means?" Jesse asked. I startled and turned to him, he held my gaze as he listened. "_She can be sweet and sour, she won't speak about forever but she gives of herself like there is only one minute left for love._ _I haven't asked yet if you'll stay, I'm afraid you'll say you won't come back. I prefer to share her before I empty my life. She's not perfect but she comes close to being what I always dreamed off."_

"Jesse?" I asked.

And he smiled. Just like that. Like saying "I knew you would come."

I jumped into his arms and held him, just held him, for a while before searching his lips with my own and kissing him soundly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry for what happened the other day, you were right! I know you! I should have trusted you I should have never even think that Paul was saying the truth."

Jesse's smile didn't waver. "It's okay, I understand."

"You do?"

He nodded. "Yes. At first I was very angry, but then I remembered what you told me about your sister and how Paul is always pushing your buttons and how much it hurts you when it comes to your sister. At first I thought it was silly, but then I thought how I would feel if Paul was after one of my sisters, and I could understand. I could understand that you doubted."

"Oh, Jesse, I still feel sorry, especially after I talked to Hailey and she told me everything. What she and Paul had planned at the beginning of the semester… and what you told them. Did you really tell Paul you weren't a man whore?"

Jesse smiled. "Yes, yes I did."

"I'm sorry," I said burying my face in his chest.

"But you won't do it again."

"But I won't do it again."

"And you'll trust me in the future."

"Always!"

Jesse kissed my forehead. "Well then."

And then we couldn't say much because his sisters came and began to make a fuss. And then Jesse invited me to eat with them since it was the day he made burgers on the grill at the backyard of their house.

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_**Hailey**_

Suze didn't come for diner. Dad was a little disappointed but recovered quickly enough. Mom and Dad were tense over the whole thing with Suze and what college she was going to go in the fall.

She had been accepted at Stanford, NYU, NoCal (of course, everyone got accepted there) and she was on waiting list for Columbia and UCLA. Suze hadn't told them yet where to send the check and though they were kind of hoping she would give up on NYU and stay closer to home.

And I found myself wishing that too.

It was weird, how I had spent so much time wishing to have her gone so I could make my own life outside her shadow and now that it was possible, even likely, that the whole country would stretch out between us, I didn't want her to go.

Suze came home while we were having dessert and sat down in her place, Max immediately went to her and put his head on her lap. Andy served her a piece of the cake we were eating and asked how her day went.

"Oh, great. Sorry I missed diner, but Jesse was making grilled burgers and invited me to stay."

"I thought you were in a fight with Jesse." Brad said.

"Got over it." I said. "Actually, we are going to the Spring Fling together... who you are going with, Brad?"

Brad mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I say I haven't got a date yet. I'm going to ask Kelly, I hear that college dude she was dating backed off, so she might say yes." Yeah, in his dreams. "And if all else fails I'll ask Debbie, she always says yes, and I mean always!" He snickered and, as usual, no one else found it amusing.

"I got a date too! Alan asked me." I said. "Mom, can we go buy that dress I saw at the mall? Can we?"

"Of course, darling." Mom said clearly pleased that I was going with Alan, she and Dad have always liked Alan. "Would you like to come with us, Suzie?"

"Sure, can I ask CeeCee to come along? Adam McTavish asked her to go with him."

"Looks like everyone has a date." Dad said but then a hush came over the table and practically everyone turned to look at David.

David promptly blushed crimson. "Eh, uh, don't feel sorry for me. I'mgoingwithShannon."

"What was that?" Jake asked.

"I said I'm going with Shannon, she asked me yesterday after lab."

"She asked you?" Jake asked and David nodded, completely embarrassed. I knew Shannon, she was a cute girl with read hair just like David, and she had a severe case of puppy love for him since, like, the eight grade. "Right on!" Jake said slapping David in the back. "We might still make a Casanova out of you!" He said and we all laughed, even David.

It felt like we were a real family.

For once no one was angry at someone else. Suze wasn't holding back, and no one was being made fun of.

It felt like family.

It felt like home.

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End of chapter eleven

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Notes!

Sorry for the irregular intervals of the updates! But I'm happy to say that there is only one chapter left and it will be up by this time next week.

Forgive the mistakes and stuff.

And please enjoy.

Love,

Clavie.

Ps. Review if you please!


	12. And so it ends

**THEN CAME YOU**

**Chapter Twelve: And so it is**

_**Suze**_

I don't exactly know what made me change my mind. I had been real clear about moving back to New York from the moment we had moved to Carmel… but when my parents – Andy and Mom that is – began to ask where they should send my tuition money I began to doubt. I gave them half answers and avoided the topic as much as possible; I kept saying I would tell them when I was ready to mail in all my forms.

I began to hesitate.

I sat with the NYU class catalogue on my lap for hours but I never did as much as leaf through it.

And then Jesse got his acceptance letter from Stanford and a letter from the admission's office, they were giving him a full scholarship for the fall semester. He had been over the moon, happy that he wouldn't have to ask his father for money (though as part of the divorce settlement, Mr. de Silva was supposed to pay for the schooling of all the de Silva children).

Mrs. de Silva made him a special dinner at his house – I was in charge of the dessert, by the way, and everyone loved Andy's chocolate-orange surprise – and then Jesse and I had a more private celebration alone at the beach.

Jesse was happy and I was happy for him but we were carefully avoiding the topic that come august I would be packing up and leaving all the way to the other side of the country.

And to make everything worse, we were all finally getting along.

I guess we all had finally reached an age where we got over ourselves. Jake was happy to play big brother as usual, but he and Brad seemed to be able to talk with David now – especially when David discovered girls (or, well, one girl: Shannon). Hailey and I stopped arguing all the time. She went steady with Alan and I was pretty happy for her though I was careful not to intervene at all with them.

With all these changes, suddenly, NYU wasn't so appealing at all. So I finally got the nerve and talking to Mom and Andy, and I told them to send the check to Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.

They tried to look like they didn't care but I knew they were happy about it.

And I was happy about it too… and the fact that Jesse was going there was just an added bonus.

It was funny how I spent so much time trying to break away from my family, and in the end, I realized that being free could mean a lot of things; it meant that I was free to go, but it also meant I was free to stay.

* * *

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO READ THIS STORY!

That's all I have to say.

I bid you adieu!

Love,

Clavie


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